The WHO project on obstetrical quality development through the integrated use of telematics (‎OBSQID)‎ is aimed at continually and effectively promoting the development of quality in perinatal care, with an emphasis on obstetrics. The project involves an extensive network of health care professionals, authorities, researchers, professional associations and third-party payers throughout the WHO European Region. Workshops organized by the WHO Regional Office for Europe have developed data collection tools for the project. At the Third Workshop on ...

Continuous quality of care development entails (‎a)‎ health care providers comparing their outcomes with those of their peers and (‎b)‎ the identification, through data collection and analysis, of centres demonstrating best practice and the most rational use of technology in order that their knowledge and expertise may be disseminated and exploited. To this end, the Quality of Health Systems Programme has facilitated consensus across Europe on health indicators within various medical specialties. These indicators and variables are compiled in data ...

The obstetrical quality indicators and data collection (‎OBSQID)‎ project for quality management and development in perinatal care involves an extensive network of health care authorities, researchers, professional associations and third-party payers throughout the WHO European Region. Previous workshops organized by the WHO Regional Office for Europe have focused on the development and refinement of two standardized, pan-European data collection tools: the case-based OBSQID basic information sheet and the OBSQID perinatal aggregated data sheet. ...

The obstetrical quality indicators and data collection (‎OBSQID)‎ project for quality development in perinatal care involves an extensive network of health care professionals, authorities, researchers, professional associations and third-party payers throughout the WHO European Region. Workshops organized by the WHO Regional Office for Europe have developed and refined data collection tools for the project. The objective of the Fourth Workshop was to further quality development and the appropriate use of technology in perinatal care. The Workshop ...

At the Sixth Workshop in 2000, initial steps were taken to decentralize the Project to national and international partners with longstanding involvement in OBSQID. Satellite activities undertaken within specific areas of perinatal care, such as neonatal care, diabetes in pregnancy and multiple births, have gained their own momentum. At this Seventh Workshop, these plans for transfer and decentralization matured into concrete action plans that will ensure continued implementation of the Project throughout Europe. Responsibility for the Project ...

Quantifying the impact of air pollution on the public's health has become an increasingly critical component in policy discussion. Those responsible for any health impact assessment must address important methodological issues related to both its design and conduct. A WHO Working Group examined several of these issues as they applied specifically to assessments of air pollution. The Group concluded that the most complete estimates of both attributable numbers of deaths and average reductions in life-span associated with exposure to air pollution ...

Estimates of exposure-response relationships are needed to assess the health impact of environmental factors. Based on available research evidence, the relationships for the common air pollutants - particulate matter, sulphur dioxide (‎SO2)‎, ozone (‎O3)‎ and nitrogen dioxide (‎NO2)‎ - were reviewed by the Nordic Expert Meeting. The Meeting was organized by the Norwegian Institute for Air Research in collaboration with the WHO European Centre for Environment and Health, and with the financial support of the Nordic Council of Ministers. The report of ...

The WHO European Centre for Environment and Health is addressing the question "how much human health is negatively affected by inadequate housing?" to support European policy-makers. To review and assess the first compilation draft quantifying the environmental burden of disease (‎EBD)‎ for housing-health linkages, selected experts were invited to an editorial review meeting in Bonn. The meeting participants reviewed all chapters and provided advice to WHO on the EBD assessments and their evidence base. Comments will be forwarded to the authors of ...

The main objective of the Rapid Assessment of Nutrition (‎RAN)‎ project has been to build up competence and practical skills in modern nutrition assessment. It is aimed at public health professionals in the countries of central and eastern Europe and the newly independent states, who are invited to attend courses and workshops to be part of a multicentre nutrition survey, coordinated by WHO. A second objective is to use the data collected in these surveys to develop national nutrition policies